Management of a patient with an unexpected obstructing carinal mass

Surgical procedures involving the airway or for mediastinal masses present considerable challenges for the anesthesiologist. Aside from the obvious technical challenges of providing ventilation, the anesthesiologist must share the airway with the surgeon. Careful and meticulous preoperative evaluation and preparation and intraoperative interaction with the surgical team is critical to assure control of the airway. We report a case of management of a patient with an unexpected near total obstruction of the airway from a carinal mass.